Are we ready for the next big Central American crisis?

We have not survived the "kids on the border" crisis yet. There are schools all over the country trying to figure out how these kids will be taken care of in school districts already facing budget issues.There is another crisis about to explode in Central America and it could mean that many more will try to come north. This is from The New York Times:

"A severe drought has ravaged crops in Central America, and as many as 2.8 million people are struggling to feed themselves, the United Nations World Food Program said Friday.

The drought, which is also affecting South America, has been particularly hard on southern Guatemala, northern Honduras and western El Salvador.

Guatemala declared a state of emergency after 256,000 families lost their crops.

Farmers growing peas, green beans and broccoli estimate that they will lose 30 to 40 percent of their crops.

Jesús Samayoa, a farmer in Jutiapa, Guatemala, said, “I am 60 years old, and this is the first time I have seen a crisis like this.”"

In other words, the "drought" is impacting the 3 poorest countries in the region, or Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

We should not sit back and let people starve. At the same time, we can't take any more people, certainly not impoverished and poorly educated illegal entrants.

President Obama should hold an emergency meeting with the presidents of these countries and Mexico. We should discuss options and offer ideas for tackling this drought. The UN could play a role here too.

This is not Iraq, Syria or having thousands of children show up at the border. However, it could be a real problem if people begin to go north to feed themselves and try to get to the US.

I repeat that this could be a huge problem for Mexico.

So let's get ahead of this problem and deal with it before it is a "crisis" like so many others on the President's desk.

We have not survived the "kids on the border" crisis yet. There are schools all over the country trying to figure out how these kids will be taken care of in school districts already facing budget issues.

There is another crisis about to explode in Central America and it could mean that many more will try to come north. This is from The New York Times:

"A severe drought has ravaged crops in Central America, and as many as 2.8 million people are struggling to feed themselves, the United Nations World Food Program said Friday.

The drought, which is also affecting South America, has been particularly hard on southern Guatemala, northern Honduras and western El Salvador.

Guatemala declared a state of emergency after 256,000 families lost their crops.

Farmers growing peas, green beans and broccoli estimate that they will lose 30 to 40 percent of their crops.

Jesús Samayoa, a farmer in Jutiapa, Guatemala, said, “I am 60 years old, and this is the first time I have seen a crisis like this.”"

In other words, the "drought" is impacting the 3 poorest countries in the region, or Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

We should not sit back and let people starve. At the same time, we can't take any more people, certainly not impoverished and poorly educated illegal entrants.

President Obama should hold an emergency meeting with the presidents of these countries and Mexico. We should discuss options and offer ideas for tackling this drought. The UN could play a role here too.

This is not Iraq, Syria or having thousands of children show up at the border. However, it could be a real problem if people begin to go north to feed themselves and try to get to the US.

I repeat that this could be a huge problem for Mexico.

So let's get ahead of this problem and deal with it before it is a "crisis" like so many others on the President's desk.